SMU has emerged as a potential ACC expansion target, multiple outlets report. The news comes as the ACC looks into the viability of Cal and Stanford -- two of the four remaining Pac-12 schools following a string of defections -- as potential additions. ACC officials are reportedly set to review the financials of two scenarios: One in which only Cal and Stanford join and one in which all three schools are invited.
Any type of expansion that would reduce the estimated $39.4 million average annual distribution to existing members was considered a "non-starter" among ACC leadership, but the university is willing to forgo conference distribution pay for their first several years in the ACC should they receive an invitation to join the conference, Yahoo Sports reports. SMU would face a reported $10 million exit fee should they leave their current home in the AAC. That number could increase if a member school gives less than 27 months' notice of leaving the conference.
For the better part of the last year SMU was viewed as a potential expansion target for the Pac-12. The Pac-12, however, now appears on the brink of collapse with six members defecting within recent weeks. The mass exodus left the conference at four total members: Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State.
SMU has shuffled conference affiliation in the time since the Southwest Conference, which the Mustangs were members of for nearly all of the 20th Century, disbanded in the mid-1990s. The university had stops in the WAC and Conference USA before joining the American Athletic Conference in time for the 2013 college football season.
With a wealthy donor base at its disposal, SMU -- which infamously received the NCAA Death Penalty punishment in the 1980s -- has been making efforts to position itself for a bid to a power conference. Last December the university broke ground on a new end zone complex at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in wake of a $50 million commitment from the Garry Weber Foundation. The gift was the largest in SMU Athletics history and supports a $100 million drive for a 192,500-square-foot complex at the venue.
SMU enters its second season under coach Rhett Lashlee in 2023. The Mustangs kick off the season at Sept. 2 at home against Louisiana Tech. The Mustangs' non-conference slate features multiple power conference members including a trip to Oklahoma in Week 2 and Fort Worth in Week 4 for its annual rivalry game against TCU.
